Actor to wield microphone as he gives tourists his own insights about filming
Richard III in the capital as part of the BFI's Shakespeare film season

He has already conquered stage and screen. This year, Sir Ian McKellen has set himself a new challenge: making it as a tour guide.

Sir Ian is to take to the buses of London to provide a personal tour of the city's landmarks, as made famous in his 1995 film Richard III.

He will wield the microphone to give his own insights about filming in locations including St Pancras station, Battersea Power Station and then building which is now Tate Modern.

Sir Ian, who is taking up the role of ambassador as part of the BFI's Shakespeare film season, said he had long thought the bus tour "might be fun" and now finally had the opportunity to bring it to life.

He will undertake the unexpected project as part of his role as the public face of Shakespeare On Film, a BFI and British Council scheme that will see more than 70 films digitised and made available to the public in 100 countries.

"I have always thought it might be fun to take a bus tour around the sites of London, where you could watch snippets of the film," he said. "I would want to be tour leader."

Robin Baker, BFI Head Curator, confirmed the actor would indeed be taking the microphone, adding it was "definitely a first" for the institution.

Speaking afterwards, Baker added the details of the tour - including how many there would be and how tickets could be made available - are still being ironed out.

"I suspect it will be the most oversubscribed event ever," he said. "But lucky, lucky people who will get to do it."

When asked how much convincing Sir Ian needed for his temporary change of career, he joked: "He's quite keen. There wasn't much coercion going on."

The tours will see tourists and fans shown clips from the film, while Sir Ian tells anecdotes about shooting in the London's most famous landmarks.

As well as more modern adaptations, the Shakespeare On Film project will give audiences an insight into the very first example of Shakespeare on film: an 1899 version of King John, as well as dozens of productions from the silent and early film eras.

John Gielgud, Sir Laurence Olivier and their contemporaries will be seen in their Shakespearian prime, while films including Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet and Akira Kurosawa's Ran are restored.

The majority of screenings and events will be held during April and May, around the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, taking place at the BFI in London and in cinemas around the world.

The BFI said the project is the "most extensive film programme ever undertaken".

His Richard III will take a central role in the relaunched films, showing him in the lead role adapted to an imagined 1930s fascist Britain.

"I've long thought that Shakespeare does best when he's done in modern dress," he said. "If you don't understand Richard III who is royal, who is military, who is in which rank, you're not going to get the story. There could be some confusion."

His version was directed and co-adapted by Richard Loncraine, co-starring Annette Bening, Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent, Kristen Scott Thomas, Robert Downey Jr and Dominic West, and will be simulcast in cinemas around the country alongside a live Q&A with Sir Ian.

A new film, Play On! Shakespeare in Silent Cinema, will also be screened at the BFI and UK cinemas, and will compile scenes from the 26 best surviving adaptations held by the BFI National Archive.

They include the first ever Shakespeare film King John (1899) and a rare discovery of a 20-year old John Gielgud's earliest appearance on film in Romeo (1922), The Tempest (1908), The Merchant of Venice (1916), Julius Caesar (1909), Macbeth (1909) and Richard III (1911).

Sir Ian McKellen as Richard III in the 1995 film adaptation Photo: Alamy

Other films will show how writers and directors have taken inspiration from Shakespeare, including a new 3D restoration of George Sidney's musical Kiss Me Kate, 10 Things I Hate About You starring Heath Ledger, and Disney's The Lion King.

Baker said of Shakespeare: "No writer has had greater impact on cinema - or inspired more films. At the latest count, IMDb lists Shakespeare as the 'writer' of 1120 titles.

"Film and TV makes Shakespeare's work more accessible than any other medium and the BFI National Archive looks after the world's largest collection of film adaptations of his work so I'm delighted that so many of them are going to be shared with audiences across the world in cinemas, online and on DVD."